Linnea: A tale of the Snow Queen

Chapter 4, The Woods

I loved the winter woods. It always held fun surprises to discover. You never had the same trip twice. Of course there was the rare occasion that nothing ever happened. This trip would be eventful. This was the trip that would change my life forever. My eyes would finally be opened to the world. I would see everyone for who they truly were.

The boys had broken the one rule of the trip. Never split up in the woods. Ingrid went to look for Aksel and I went to look for my brother. Sure we broke the rule too but it was only to find our brothers. I kept yelling their names hoping I would find them. That’s when I heard it. The sound of children laughing. I followed it hoping that I would find Lucas. No matter how far I went, I couldn’t find the children. They were nowhere in sight.

I kept walking. I kept looking. There was nothing. Then the sound stopped and I felt my foot step on something under the snow. I stopped and got down on my knees. I started to push away the snow. That’s when I found it, a mirror. Hidden under the snow and ice was an old mirror. In the mirror I saw my own reflection. My skin, nearly as pale as the snow. My hair, almost white like the snow. My eyes, nearly as blue as ice. The mirror showed me something different, I looked like I was nearly made of snow and ice.

That’s when I reached out to touch the glass. With one touch the mirror broke. I felt something take hold of me. Something was changing inside of me. It was painful, but it felt right. The pain was so intense that I passed out in the snow. The mirror was broken. The shards were all over the ground. I laid there in the snow for who knows how long. That’s when they found me “Linnea!” Ingrid shouted
“What happened to her?” Lucas asked
“She’s cold as ice. We need to get her home.”
“I’ll carry her.” Lucas said. He carried me home. With my heart freezing over by the day. I would never be the same. None of us would ever be the same.

My father sat by my bedside. A doctor came to examine me. I laid in my bed. My room grew colder by the hour. My father sat there and watched me as the doctor examined me “She’s going to be fine.” the doctor said
“Are you sure?” my father asked
“Hans, she's going to be fine. She’s a little cold but that’s probably because she was laying there for too long.”
“When will she wake up?”
“Give it a few hours, maybe a day. If she isn’t awake by tomorrow then I’ll come check her again.”
“Is there anything else you can do?”
“Just warm her up. Hans, trust me, Linnea will be fine. She’s quite the fighter.”
“Thank you doctor.” my father said. The doctor left the room. Agnes came in and touched my hand. I wasn’t her real daughter, but she treated me like I was. She went over to my father and rubbed his back. She then kissed his forehead and left the room.

Agnes sat down at the dinner table. Looked at my siblings, then at our empty seats “Your father and Linnea won’t be joining us for dinner tonight.” she said
“Should I bring him some later?” Ingrid asked
“I think that it’s best we left him alone with Linnea.”
“How is she?” Aksel asked
“Cold. Even in her sleep that girl is an angel.”
“I may need extra blankets tonight. Our room is getting colder by the hour.”
“The entire house is getting colder by the hour.”
“You don’t think…”
“No. No it can’t be.”
“I hope she wakes up.” Astrid said. They all looked at the little girl. They all had the same hope. I wasn’t dead. I was merely going through a metamorphosis. From a normal caterpillar to a frozen butterfly. They thought I was dying, at first I thought I was dying. The pain was too intense. My body felt cold, but it was an inviting cold. It was as if something was guiding me. Something was saying to me that I was meant for greatness. I would never be the same.